Field of the Invention
This patent document relates to user removable protective enclosures or cases for mobile devices. More particularly the subject matter of this patent document relates to such cases that include auxiliary battery capacity.
Description of the Related Art
Mobile devices are known to sustain damage from impact, such as from a fall or being dropped by a user and from contamination, such as when damaged by water or other fluid. The damage, for example, may result in a cracked screen, scratches on a finished surface, lost or damaged buttons or controls, cracked or bent external body components, and/or failed or malfunctioning electrical components. Cases have thus been provided to protect mobile devices from such and variant types of damage.
Protective cases with integrated batteries are available. Typically, such cases have a battery cell or cells within the case, along with power supply terminals that are inserted into the mobile device's data and battery charging port. In certain devices, the data battery charging port comprises a female USB port. In other mobile devices such as the iPhone® 5 by Apple®, a proprietary data and charging port is used. (iPhone and Apple are trademarks of Apple Inc.) In either case, electrical current is supplied by the internal battery of the case to the mobile device in such a way that the mobile device operates as if the current supplied is from a battery charging power supply instead of the auxiliary battery. The protective case can be arranged to have permanently installed battery cell(s), or can be arranged to so that the battery cell(s) can be user replaceable.
In certain protective cases with auxiliary batteries, the user of the mobile device uses a mechanical switch to manually select which battery powers the mobile device, either the internal battery of the mobile device, or the auxiliary battery internal to the protective case. In other protective cases, an app, i.e., a software application, executing on the mobile device monitors mobile device usage patterns, and sends usage data, including the amount of charge left in the battery in the mobile device to a processing device in the protective case. The processing device in the protective case then determines when to enable supply of current from the battery of the protective case, through the data and charging port, and into the mobile device, for charging of the mobile device battery.
The ability of processing device of the protective case to accurately determine when to enable the supply of current from the protective case's battery to the mobile device's battery is directly related to the accuracy of the data supplied by the mobile device. Unfortunately, the battery condition data (e.g., the amount of charge left in the battery) supplied through the data and charging port of most mobile devices, including the Apple® iPhone® and most Android™-based devices is unreliable. (Android is a trademark of Google Inc.) When the processing device of the protective case having an auxiliary battery receives inaccurate battery condition data, it can enable the supply of current either too soon or too late. Both situations are problematic. For example, to obtain the maximum amount to time for using the mobile device, it is desirable to delay enablement of the auxiliary battery for as long as possible, since it is known that most mobile devices consume more power when run on external power supplies. Likewise, if the supply of current from the auxiliary battery is delayed too long, the mobile device can exhaust its battery before the auxiliary supply of current is enable, thus leading to the device shutting down.
Additionally, because battery cases require a male plug that connects to the female power port or connector of the mobile device, conventional battery cases typically are comprised of a base portion and separate perimeter portion to facilitate insertion of the mobile device in the case. As a result, it is not uncommon for the case to separate (e.g., the bumper portion to dislodge or fall off) when the case is dropped.
Accordingly, it is here recognized that there is a need for protective cases for mobile devices that have an auxiliary battery that can supply electric current to the mobile device, and where the protective case is arranged to receive accurate data regarding the condition of the mobile device's battery.